Charming
by mostenoble
Summary: /"You're not,"/Justin Finch-Fletchley is good at (most) charms, and Lavender Brown is in the Hospital Wing, leaving Parvati Patil without a study partner. He may be good at Charms, but whether or not he can be 'charming' is a different story.


**"She looks like a librarian!"/"Your kind of librarian or my kind of librarian?"/"Well, she was wearing clothes if that's what you mean!" ~ Supernatural**

 **For the '2016 Monthly Prompt Challenge' by NeonDomino. Day One. Quote is not mine.**

 **Disclaimer: I do not own Supernatural or Harry Potter. If I did, I would be a lot richer. They belong to Eric Kripke and J.K Rowling. I don't own any of the characters here, either.**

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The leaves had turned from green to a crisp, subtle brown-orange that now littered the hallways. Autumn was rolling to a close as cool air sunk across the grounds, leaving the students to wrap themselves into thick scarves and slowly pull on itchy woollen socks. Justin Finch-Fletchley saw no need to break these unspoken rules, and had warmed himself with a black-and-yellow scarf and thick, knobbly socks from his grandmother. His bookbag brushed his thick trousers as he found himself passing through one of the colder corridors, the stones reaching at him to seep up his heat. He shook his head slightly, annoyance ticking away in his head at the stupidity of his actions.

It'd started one day in Charms, where Professor Flitwick had asked them to pair up. Ernie and Hannnah had paired up, leaving him the odd one out. Lavendar Brown had been sent to the hospital wing after getting on the wrong end of a curse she'd been hit with during one of the D.A practises - the excuse was that she was hit by it while practising duelling, but Justin was one of the people who knew the truth. Parvarti Patil, her best friend, had that same lost look about her, with no clear partner, and suddenly Justin, in all his friendliness, had found his feet propelling him towards her. It wasn't that they were friends, or that they'd ever really spoken, apart from a 'please pass me the sheet/pencil' during the rare classes they shared. He had seen her at the Yule Ball the year before, on Harry Potter's arm, and something had stirred then - Parvarti was beautiful, no doubt, everybody thought so, and she had a sense of humour that could make anyone laugh. Intimidating could be the right word for her; he was sure she had never thought much of him, not in any sense. He still wasn't sure how it had happened.

Justin had mumbled something which he later realised was an invitation to partner with him, and after looking around at her choices, she had accepted. He'd helped her with some spell he couldn't quite remember, and she'd beamed at him and told him he was good at it, which had made him walk around for the rest of the day as though he was floating on air. Next class, Lavender was paired with Ron Weasley and Justin partnered Parvarti again, and she bought up the suggestion of studying together, and now here he was, at their third meeting.

He rounded the corner and pushed open the big, wooden doors to the library, taking a breath as his eyes adjusted to the brighter light. Flames flickered in short intervals around the edges of the room, and candles floated over every desk, shedding light on the ancient tomes from which students read. Justin swallowed, and turned around on his heel, hoping to catch a glimpse of her shiny, dark hair. He couldn't see her, though he recognised others; Michael Corner was, well, in the corner with Ginny Weasley, who didn't look very happy at all about being locked up inside. Hannah was ruffling through some book with Susan Bones, who kept stealing glances at Isobel MacDougal. No sign of Parvati, however. _Late._ She'd been late every other time, though, so Justin's heart hadn't gone into overdrive. _Yet._ He looked around anxiously, hoping to spot the trademark look on that beautiful face of hers.

"I thought Hufflepuffs were good finders?" He turned around to see Parvati grinning down at him, her teeth a vibrant white, her eyes glittering as the flames' reflections danced across her iris. She had adorned a scarf, too; a Gryffindor one, charmed to flash red and gold. Justin felt his face grow hot, and knew it would be red; inwardly, he cursed himself.

"Not me, then," Justin murmured, intently staring at his feet. He could practically _feel_ Parvati's smirk. It didn't help his facial situation much. "How have you been?" Parvati's smile grew wider, and Justin knew his ears were joining the blushing parade.

"Oh, alright, I suppose, since you saw me - two days gone, I think?" She laughed, and Justin felt like his stomach was about to fling itself out of his mouth. He pressed his lips together to ensure that didn't happen. "I was just visiting poor old Lav in the Hospital Wing, she's still there - I'd never known that Hermione Granger was so good at spells, you know? And then I had to go back to the Gryffindor Tower to get her Divination textbooks, she doesn't want to miss out on anything, and that took _forever_ because Neville couldn't remember the password and the Fat Lady went off her nutter, again. Sorry I'm late, by the way."

Justin attempted to process all of what she just said. "It's okay. Do you want to start, then?" She nodded, still smiling, and Justin itched the back off his neck. _I shouldn't have worn this woollen scarf._ It felt as through someone had set a pack of flies on him. A constant, annoying sensation that did nothing. She raised her eyebrows at him, but said nothing, and skipped off down the stairs to the _Charms_ section. Justin waited for a second, swallowing and attempting to calm his nerves, and then followed her.

They went to their usual table, at the end of the row, and hastily began looking for books. Justin was vaguely annoyed at himself for his sheer inability to cast 'accio'.He knew the title of the book they needed...if he could just find it.

"Justin, see over there? Should we ask her?" Parvati pointed at an older woman Justin had never seen before, with long blond hair in a brown skirt and blazer. "She looks like a librarian." Justin raised his eyebrows at her. Parvati had been known to use the word 'librarian' as a code word for 'lesbian', or girl who liked other girls, really, due to her deep-in-the-closet-bisexual tendencies.

"Your kind of librarian or my kind of librarian?" He queried. She rolled her eyes, frowning.

"Well, she was wearing clothes if that's what you mean!" Parvati huffed. Justin laughed.

"Alright then, let's ask her, then. She's too old for you, though." Justin joined Parvati at the edge of the bookcase, peering out at the woman. She strode around with an odd sort of confidence, looking down her nose.

"You're not," Parvati grinned at him. His whole neck felt as thought it was on fire.

"I-"

She grabbed his hand and pulled him along, and Justin could only follow.


End file.
